Editorial introductions

Abstract

Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology was launched in 2001. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The fields of allergy and clinical immunology are divided into 14 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Journal's Section Editors for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Stephen JollesStephen JollesDr Jolles is a Consultant Clinical Immunologist and Honorary Professor at the University Hospital of Wales, UK. He is Clinical Lead in the Immunodeficiency Centre of Wales and Co-Director of the Hub Immunology Diagnostic Laboratory of Wales. Dr Jolles trained in immunology and allergy, and obtained his PhD on Langerhans cell migration at the National Institute for Medical Research, London. He has a particular interest in the clinical use of immunoglobulin and its mechanism of action and research interests include development of new therapeutic products, new screening strategies to improve the laboratory diagnosis of primary and secondary immunodeficiency and allergy, and better ways to monitor primary immunodeficiency disease and the impact of treatments. M. Teresa (Maite) de la MorenaM. Teresa (Maite) de la MorenaM. Teresa (Maite) de la Morena is Professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Immunology at University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital, USA. She graduated from medical school at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. This was followed by residency and fellowships training in pediatrics, allergy and immunology, and laboratory immunology at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. Dr de La Morena has a clinical interest in allergy and immunology, clinical immunology with particular focus on the primary immunodeficiency diseases. Her research interests include long term clinical outcomes of patients with X-linked Hyper IgM syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome and microRNAs in primary immunodeficiency disorders, including their role in thymic development. Giovanni PassalacquaGiovanni PassalacquaProf. Giovanni Passalacqua was born in Genoa in 1964, graduated in 1990 from the Genoa University Medical School, Italy, and was appointed by the specialty degrees in Allergy and Clinical Immunology and Respiratory Medicine in 1994 and 2002. He is the Co-Chairman of the Immunotherapy Scientific Committee of the WAO and member of the ARIA editorial board. Prof. Passalacqua serves as a section editor for Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and also as a reviewer for Allergy, JACI, Clin Exp Allergy and ERJ. Prof. Passalacqua is the co-author of several international position papers, including ARIA guidelines, WAO Pos pap on SLIT, EAACI Pos Pap on local immunotherapy. His main fields of research are sublingual immunotherapy, mechanisms of allergic inflammation, antihistamines, corticosteroids, respiratory allergy, hymenoptera venom allergy. Under the chairmanship of Professor Canonica, he developed and investigated sublingual immunotherapy in the last 20 years. He has had 450 full articles published in peer reviewed journals indexed in MedLine plus 15 chapters in international handbooks. He currently heads the Allergy and Respiratory Diseases Department, and chairs the Specialty School in Respiratory Diseases, University of Genoa, Italy. Robert BushRobert BushDr Robert Bush received his MD degree from West Virginia University, USA. After completing his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in allergy and immunology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, USA, he joined the faculty. He is currently Professor (Emeritus) of Medicine and was the former Chief of Allergy at the William S Middleton VA Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. His research interests include sublingual immunotherapy, allergen characterization, fungal allergy, food allergy, and occupational asthma.